The Virtual Speaker Series features an environmentally focused speaker the third Thursday of every month (except summer months), beginning at 7:00 p.m. Zoom invites will be published on the website under events and emailed to all members before the event. Keep reading to view recordings of some of our past speakers. You can find more on our YouTube channel here. For a downloadable list of past Zoom speakers, click here.
May 2026 – The Joy of Native Plants
ECOS board member Margaret Blohm details how she reinvigorated her yard with native plants, and how individuals using native plants can help make a difference in the biodiversity crisis we’re currently facing.
March 2026 – Glaciers in a Warming Climate
Sarah Child, PhD, presents on Antarctic and Greenland glacier response to a warming climate over the past 60-80 years. Using film aerial photography, she renders historical timestamps of polar terrain; these historical surfaces are compared with present-day glacier geometries to quantify how much change has taken place. Child is a a PRODiG+ post-doctoral visiting professor at the University at Albany’s Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences.
February 2026 – Understanding Cyanobacteria
Biologist Sabina Gifford answers the questions, what are cyanobacteria, why are they a concern, what you can do if you see a cyanobacteria bloom, and will briefly touch on local research projects. Gifford started with USGS in February 2020 and currently serves as a biologist with the New York Water Science investigating the ecology and environmental drivers of cyanobacteria blooms in waterbodies in New York.
January 2026 – Promoting Native Plants
Native plant advocate Ed Travis presents, “How an Austin, Texas, Engineer Delved into Native Plants and HOAs.”
November 2025 – From Faucet to Flush and Beyond
Máire Cunningham and Liz Ricci, P.E. of the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation gave a presentation on water and sewer basics.
October 2025 – Mussel Ecology with Jason Dickey
Jason Dickey is an aquatic ecologist and environmental consultant based in Niskayuna. He is federally permitted to handle Threatened and Endangered mussels and has performed mussel surveys and relocations across the U.S. This presentation will leave you with a newfound fascination of mussel ecology and their critical role in maintaining healthy waters.
September 2025 – Vitamin N with Donna Esposito
Certified forest therapy guide Donna Esposito gives an overview of how time in nature impacts physical and mental health.
May 2025 – Don’t Get Ticked
New York State Integrated Pest Program’s Joellen Lampman talks about the different ticks in our area, their biology, the diseases they carry, how to protect yourself, and the invasive species-tick connection.
April 2025 – Niskayuna Complete Streets Committee
William R. Chapman, chair of the Niskayuna Complete Streets Committee, will discuss the committee’s purpose, objectives, and activities; resources to fund projects; road types in the town; and the committee’s goals for 2025-2026.
March 2025 – Welcoming Native Plants Into Your Garden
Martie Teumim, a founding member of the Capital Region New York Chapter of Wild Ones, a national organization dedicated to educating people about native plants and natural landscapes, will discuss the benefits of using native plants.
February 2025 – Green Schools Travel Officer
Ciarán Hussey, a Green-Schools Travel Officer in Ireland, discusses his work for the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce, including how he helps schools increase the number of pupils walking, cycling, scooting, carpooling, using public transport or using park ‘n’ stride instead of the private car on the school run.
January 2025 – Monitoring Forest Health
Forest pathologist Kelsey McLaughlin discusses stressors of tree health, how to recognize when a tree is sick, common sense practices to reduce stresses of backyard trees and more.
November 2024 – Time to Move Beyond Plastics
Professional engineer Liz Mastrianni discusses how we have been deceived by plastics manufacturers and what we can do to make a difference.
October 2024 – New York ReLeaf
Christina McLaughlin of the NYS Department of Conservation’s Urban and Community Forestry program describes how the New York ReLeaf program provides outreach and tools to realize the benefits of a well-planned urban forest. One of the tools Governor Hochul provided in the 2024 Executive Budget is an initiative to plant 25 million trees in New York State by 2033! Learn about the state’s plans to get the planting work accomplished and how you and your community can help.
September 2024 – Homelessness and Climate Change
Harris Eisenhardt, VP of Outreach on the ECOS Board of Directors, explores the disproportionate challenges that individuals experiencing homelessness face in a changing climate and covers ways to help build resilience in our communities, and expand our resources to support one of the most vulnerable groups in our population.
April 2024 – Flight Plan
Laura McCarthy, Sr. Manager of Network Engagement, and Eric Lind, Director of Education Programming at Audubon New York, lead a conversation about Audubon’s network and what their strategic “Flight Plan” looks like at the local level.
March 2024 – Capital Roots
Mike DellaRocco and Matt Schueler, Community Engagement Manager and Director of Education and Job Development of Capital Roots, focused on the green initiatives of Capital Roots. They highlighted the Urban Grow Center with its solar array, green roof, industrial composter, and expanded food hub.
February 2024 – Jessecology Eco-Landscaping
Jesse Peters, ecologist, writer, and founder of Jessecology Eco-Landscaping. Jesse showcased some native plants-centered garden and landscaping projects from around the local area and hosted a Q+A.